This invention relates to apparatus for providing improved locating ability for sport objects propelled a distance from the participant and, in particular, to a system for locating a golf ball.
In the conduct of many sporting activities, a sport object is caused to travel at great distances from the player, and visual contact may be lost during the flight of the object. As a result, it is often difficult to later locate the sport object after it has left the situs of the user. This is especially true in games such as golf wherein a relatively small ball is propelled about a course which is intentionally designed with hazards and long grass to provide a difficult playing environment for the participant. Every golfer has experienced the frustrations of being unable to locate the ball after he has made a long distance stroke. Not only is there frustration for the participant in the sport, but also there is a cost factor involved due to lost objects when one is playing in an environment which is especially rough or obscured. Thus, sport enthusiasts and particularly golfers have long yearned for an effective, reliable and compact system which assists in locating the sport object after it has been struck.
Previously attempts have been made to incorporate active electronic devices within the golf ball itself. These attempts have not met with commercial success for a number of factors including the resulting changes in the characteristics of the ball. In any sporting activity, rules and regulations prescribe the character and nature of the object used in the playing of the sport. Golf is no different and, in fact, may be more heavily regulated than most sporting activities since the dimensions, weight, surface character, and resiliency of the balls must meet with approval by a regulatory authority before the ball can be used in competitive play. The modification of a sport object so it is outside the prescribed regulations has resulted in the so-modified objects not receiving commercial success when introduced to the marketplace.
Thus in order to gain commercial acceptance, it is recognized that any sport object modified for use with a locating system should not alter the object by the incorporation of elements therein. Furthermore, any tracking apparatus utilized in combination with a modified sport object has to be transported by the user as he moves about the playing field. This apparatus must be small in size, light in weight, reliable and modest in cost in order to enjoy participant acceptance. The present invention relies on a particular configuration of conductive material placed on the surface of the ball so that the sport object can be manufactured in the normal manner according to the prescribed standards of the sport with additional non-intrusive coating steps employed thereafter.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a relatively compact and reliable tracking system for a sport object propelled at a distance from the user wherein the user receives an indication as he gets closer to the object. Furthermore, the only modification to the object is a coating placed thereon to aid in the tracking of an object which has come to rest at a distance from the user. This coating is preferably applied after the typical manufacturing processes have been completed.